Match-machine.



No. 866,651. PATENTBD SEPT. 24, 1907.

W. P. HUTGHINSON.

MATCH MACHINE.

APPLICATION IILED 007.224, 1906.

4 8EEET8-SKEET 1.

ATTORNEY PATENTED SEPT. 24, 1907.

W. F. HUTGHINSON. MATCH MACHINE.

APPLIO ION FILED 00124, 1966.

ATTORNEY Q n u m m m. w m u I 1 n u No.86&651. PATENTED SEPT.24,190T W.F.HUTOHINSON.

MATCH MACHINE APPLICATION FILED 00124, 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ATTORNEY we norms; PETERS co. :EINGTfiN. 2 c- 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

ATTORNEY 0 n n m 6 M N u I w n I u I I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F. I-IUTGHINSON, OF NYAOK, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO SARNIA MATCH COMPANY, OF SARNIA, ONTARIO, CANADA, A CORPORATION OF CANADA.

MATCH-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 24, 1906. Serial No. 340,316.

Patented Sept. 24, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM F. HUTCHINSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nyack, in the county of Rockland and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Match- Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The inventionrelates, to a match machine that is provided with a set of rotary arms supporting on each arm a set of cutters adapted to cut matches, preferably from a block, and the arms are also provided witha series of plungers, a plunger being in line with each cutter to eject the splint from the cutter at a certain point in the rotation of the arms, the rotation of the arms being continuous.

The machine is further designed to provide a carrier and mechanism to move the carrier so as to feed it forward and to move it in a time that the splints are ejected from the cutters, so that there is no necessity for interrupting the rotation of the' cutters and the plungers.

The machine is also designed to provide a table for feeding the stock to the cutters, that moves the stock transversely so that all the stock is used up in one line before the stock is fed forward to the cutters of the next line of splints, and the stock is then again moved transversely in the reverse direction so that there is practically no waste of stock.

The machine is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view of the machine. Fig. l is a face view of a cam used in the feeding mechanism. Fig. 2 is a section on line 2, 2, in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a section on line 3, in Fig. 2, looking at the machine from the opposite side of that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the travel of the cutter bars and the mechanism for turning the same while they are being rotated. Fig. 5 is a section of a detail of one of the plunger bars. Fig. 6 is an elevation, partly in section,

of one end of a cutter bar and its bearings, and Fig. 7 is a transverse section of a cutter bar. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one end of the edge of the feeding table, and Fig. 9 is a portion of the carrier that receives the matches from the cutters.

The machine is provided with a base 10, and on the outside edges of the base 10 are the standards 11 for the support of the ends of the shaft 12. Near one end of the machine are the standards 13 forming the supports for the shaft 14, which is driven by a suitable pulley, and

this shaft, by means of a sprocket 15 and a chain 16, drives a sprocket 17 which is fast to and rotates the shaft 12. Inside the bearings 11 are the frames 18 connected by suitable stiffening bolts 19, and being provided with annular grooves or recesses 20. Between the frames 18 is mounted a pair of rings 21, these rings being supported by the spokes 22 on the hubs 23, fastened to the shaft 12. At cqui-distant points, in the rings 21, are arranged the sliding journals 24, in which are rotatably mounted the cutter bars 25 which are provided with a series of cutters 26, each cutter being adapted to cut a splint from a block of wood. The extreme ends of the cutter bars 25 [it into the rollers 27, these rollers riding around in the annular recesses 20. The rolls 27 thus serve to support the cutter bars 25 when they are being rotated, but at certain points in the rotation of the cutters it is necessary to turn them and also to hold them very steadily in their turned position. To accomplish this, each cutter bar, adjacent to each roll 27, is provided with a square box portion 28, each box having the projecting fingers 29 attached to or 7 5 integral with it. When the arms are rotated in the di rection of the arrow at in Fig. 3, it is necessary, when an arm approaches the table 30 holding the stock, to move the cutters so that they will descend perpendicularly, and not in a circular direction, and at the same time to hold them steady. One of the fingers 29, before arriving at the cutting point, engages a pin 31 on the frame 18, that will be seen from Figs. 3 and 4, and the cutter bar with its box portion 28 is turned, and the box completes the turning and holds the cutters rigid while cutting, by being guided by the guides 32 on the frame 18. It will be seen that if the cutters were carried around in a circular direction, after leaving the guides 32 they would be horizontal when reaching the bottom of the machine where the splints are to be ejected from the cutters. It is thus made necessary to again turn the cutter bar, which is done by the pin 33 which turns the cutter bar and its box 28, so that it enters between the guides 34 in the same position, relative to the base, as it was when the cutting was being done. To allow for .the perpendicular movement of the box 28, at the cutting point and consequently of the cutter bar 25, the bearing 24 slides in its recess in the ring 21, and the slot 20 for the roller 27 is shaped to correspond with the guides 32. The cutters 26 are fastened, preferably, to cutter bar 25, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the adjacent cutters 26 having the screw 35 with its head bearing on flanges on the cutters and screwing into the bar. This arrangement makes it easy to withdraw any individual cutter that should become broken or requires sharpening, and also allows the easy installation of a new cutter. It will be noted that these cutters are thus spaced apart. This space is taken up on each suc- 2 see,

cessive cutting by a transverse moving of the stock that is being cut, which will be described hereinafter. Opposite each cutter 26 is a plunger 36, and each set of plunger-s is mounted in the bar 37 supported on the ends, in the slots 38 in the spokes 22, and being centrally supported by the strips 39 on the hub 40 fastened to the shaft 12, as in Figs. 2 and 3. The opposed plunger bars 37, preferably four in number, the same as the cutter bars, are arranged radially in line with the cutters, and are drawn toward each other by the tension springs 41, each bar thus being drawn toward the shaft' 12 under normal conditions. The springs 41 are adjustable, and the adjustment is shown in Fig. 5, the ends of the springs being caught in the ends of a screwthreaded bolt 42 which fits to the top of a sleeve 43 and being locked by the lock nut 44. When a set of cutters arrive at the bottom of the machine, at the point where the ejecting is to take place, a projection 45 on each end of the plunger bar, for that set of cutters, comes underneath the end 46 of the lever 4.7, pivoted in a bracket 48 supported on each side of the machine on the frames 18. The other end of the lever 47 has a ball-joint 49, and a rod 50 connects with another balljoint 51, which is in turn connected with a bell-crank 52 on each side of the machine pivoted to each frame 18, the other end 53 of the bell-crank being'operated by the reciprocation of a rod 54 fastened to a rocking lever 55 which has a roller 56 engaging a cam 57, shown more particularly in Figs. 1 and 3. The cam 57 is mounted on the shaft 14, and-it will thus be seen that each rotation of the shaft trips this mechanism to throw the end 46 of the lever 47 sharply downward, so that each plunger 36 passes through its cutter 26 to drive the match out of it. The rocking lever 55 is held against the cam 57 and is caused to return to its normal position by a spring 58. To receive the matches, when thus ejected, I provide a frame 59 sliding in the ways 60, and being held by the guide rollers 61. A detail of one side of the frame is shown in Fig. 9, it being composed on each side of parallel strips 62, and running across the frame and thus transversely of the machine are the bars 63 having the narrower portions 64 on their ends, these narrower portions being engaged by the teeth on the wheel 65, shown in Fig. 3. This wheel is thus used to propel, and at the same time to hold the frames. The wheel 65 is mounted on the shaft 66 which runs across the machine, and by reference to Figs. 1 and 2, will be seen to be mounted in the lower ends of the brackets 48 and equipped near each end with a ratchet wheel 65. Each ratchet wheel is operated by a pawl 66 on the end of a lever 67 which is pivoted to the end of the bar 54, the reciprocation of which has been described before. It will thus be seen that each time a set of plungers is operated, the carrier is advanced far enough to bring an empty set of perforations 63, in the carrier, underneath the splints that are being ejected, and to move the carrier forward at the same time, so that the splints having a slight forward movement, by reason of the rotation of the cutters and the plungers, are not bent and are fed smoothly into the carrier. 1

To feed the stock there is arranged a table 30 which supports a transversely moving platform 68 which is held between the noses 69 and 70 and rides freely on the balls 71, the platform being provided with idle rollers 72 and a larger roll 73. The stock is given a for= ward movement, at the proper time, by a pair of feed rolls 74 which are operated by the gears 75 which are mounted on the ends of them, these gears meshing with a gear 76. The feed rolls 74 are arranged to slide in the slots 104 in a frame 105, and are held down into engagement with the stock, by reason of the spring 106 pressing apart the upper ends of the levers 107 which are pivoted at 108, and as will be clearly understood from Fig. 3. The gear 76 is on the shaft 77 and receives Tm'i'ntermittent motion by reason of the ratchet 78 and the pawl 79, the pawl 79 being mounted on a lever 80 loose on the shaft '77, this lever 80 being reciprocated by means of a rod 81 which has a head 82 thereon, this head being slotted on its sides, as at 8 3, to allow the passage of the teeth 84, these teeth engaging, on each rotation, the roller 85 on the end of the rod 81. A spring 86 forces the roller 85 up against the cam having the teeth 84. This cam 84 is mounted on a shaft 88 which is in turn caused to revolve the gear 89 in mesh with another gear 90 mounted on the shaft 12. This provides for the forward movement of the stock on the table 30, but there is a transverse motion to the platform 68, on the table, which is caused by the table 68 having a bracket 91 on its side, this bracket being equipped with a roller 92, this roller being shown in Figs. 1 and 1, and operating in a groove 93 on the face of a cam 94, This causes a side or transverse movement of the carriage, and the cam is so cut, that there are sufficient side movements in one direction to use up all the stock between the cutters before there is any forward movement of the stock, and then the platform is intermittently moved back in the opposite direction to use up the next line of stock. This provides for practically no waste of stock, and the entire material is used up. The forward end of the platform 68, where the cutting takes place, is provided with a shelf 95 which is shown in Figs. 3 and 8, and there is a plate 96 inserted therein, having a sharpened projection 97: to grasp the stock on the bottom and insure its side movement.

To grasp the stock on the top, I provide a cross-bar 98 which can be provided with similar sharpened portions or projections 99, this bar 98 being held down on the stock by reason of its being on the end of a pivoted lever 100, the other end of which supports a roller 101, and when the stock is slid in under this roller, it insures the grasping of the stock by the projections 99. The tension of the whole device under this stock being regulated by the spring 102 and the screw 103.

This machine is compact, and by means of its mo tion being continuous and steady, is not subject to any jars or quick changes of movement that have a tendency to wear.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided a rotary machine in which the cutters move vertically so as to get the effect of a reciprocating machine and that by having the cutters move continuously I gain speed and consequently the splints can be cut with great rapidity.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:-

1. A match machine comprising a stock feed and cutter bars carrying splint cutters, the said bars moving in a generally circular path, but being guided to move perpendicularly to the stock feed Where they intersect the said feed, and means for imparting a rotary movement to the cutter bars, to bring the cutting edges tangential to said circular path at one point and radial thereto at another.

2. A match machine comprising a stock feed, cutters moving in a generally circular path and intersecting the feed, means for imparting rotary movement to the cutters to bring the cutting edges tangential to said circular path at one point and radial thereto at another, and plungcrs engaging the severed stock after the cutters have passed the stock feed to eject the stock from the cutters.

3. A machine comprising a stock feed, a series of cutters traveling in a generally circular path and intersecting the feed, means for imparting a rotary movement to each series of cutters to bring the cutting edges tangential to said circular path at one point and radial thereto at another. and plungers arranged concentrically with respect to the cutters and adapted to push the severed stock from the cutters.

4. A match machine comprising a stock feed, a series of cutters spaced apart and intersecting the feed, and a guide track for the cutters, the said track being arranged to move the cutters perpendicularly to the stock feed at the point where the cutters intersect the feed, and means for imparting to each series of cutters a rotatory movement before it is moved perpendicularly to bring the cutting edges tangential 'to said circular path at one point and radial thereto at another.

A match machine comprising a stock feed, a series of cutters spaced apart and rotating so as to intersect the stock feed, a guiding device to move the cutters perpendicularly to the feed at the point where the cutters and feed intersect, means for imparting to each series of cutters a rotary movement before it is moved perpendicularly to bring the cutting edges tangential to their rotary movement at one point and radial thereto at another, plungers turning with the cutters, and means for auto matically moving the plungers to eject the severed stock from the cutters 6. A match machine comprising a stock feed, cutters traveling in a generally circular path and intersecting the feed, means for imparting a rotary movement to the cut ters before intersection with the feed to bring the cutting edges tangential to said circular path at one point and radial thereto at another, plungers arranged within the circle of the cutters and adapted to eject the splints from the cutters, and a carrier to receive the splints as they are pushed from the cutters; the carrier, cutters and plungers all being timed to move together.

7. A match machine comprising a stock feed, a rotating support turning on an axis transverse to the stock feed, cutters carried by the support and intersecting the stock feed, means for guiding the cutters perpendicularly to the feed, and means for turning the rotating support before it reaches the guides to bring the cutting edges tangential to said circular path at one point and radial thereto at another.

S. A match machine comprising a stock feed, radially arranged spokes turning opposite the feed in a generally circular path, cutters carried by the said spokes and arranged to slide radially thereon, means for guiding the cutters as they intersect the feed so as to make their movement perpendicular to the feed, and means for imparting a rotary movement to the cutters before their intersection with the feed to bring the cutting edges tangential to said circular path at one point and radial thereto at another.

9. A match machine comprising a stock feed, radially arranged spokes turning opposite the said feed in a gen erally circular path, cutters carried by the said spokes so as to intersect the feed, means for driving the cutters so that they shall travel straight across the feed, and means for imparting a rotary movement to the cutters independent of the guiding means to bring the cutting edges tangential to said circular path at one point and radial thereto at another.

10. A match machine comprising a stock feed, a series of cutter bars spaced apart and traveling in a generally circular path so as to intersect the feed, cutters on the said cutter bars, journals to permit the turning of the bars, flat-sided boxes on the cutter bars engaging guides to move the cutters straight across the path of the stock feed, and means for imparting rotary movement to the bars independent of the guides to bring the cutting edges tangential to said circular path at one point and radial thereto at another.

11. A match machine comprising a stock feed, a rotating support traveling in a generally circular path, cutters carried by the support, and intersecting the stock feed, and projections carried by the machine contacting With the cutters for turning the same on their axes to bring their cutting edges tangential to said circular path at one point, and radial thereto at another.

12. A match machine comprising a stock feed, circular guide tracks adjacent to the feed, cutter bars spaced apart traveling in a generally circular path and in the tracks, the said cutter bars carrying cutters which inter sect the stock feed, guiding means to cause the cutters to move straight across the stock feed, and means inde pendent of the guiding means to impart a rotary movement to the cutters to bring their cutting edges tangential to said circular path at one point and radial thereto at another.

13. A match machine comprising a stock feed, a splint carrier, a series of cutters traveling in a generally circular path and intersecting the stock feed, means for guiding the cutters in position to travel st light across the stock feed, means independent of the guiding means for turning the cutters to bring their cutting edges tangential to said circular path at one point and radial thereto at another, and means for ejecting the stock from the cutters into the carrier. l-l. A match machine comprising a stock feed, cutters traveling in a generally circular path and traversing the stock feed, a carrier adjacent to the path of the cutters, means for guiding the cutters perpendicular to the stock feed and perpendicular to the carrier, means for imparting movement to the cutters independent of. the guiding means to bring the cutting edges tangential to said circular path at one point and radial thereto at another, and plungcrs moving with the cutters and arranged to move outward and eject the splints from the cutters into the carriers.

15. In a match machine, the combination with the stock feed, the carrier, the stationary guides, and the cutter bars carrying cutters and moving in a generally circular path; of the squared portions on the cutter bars, and means for turning the said squared portions so as to bring the cutting edges tangential to the circular path at one point and radial thereto at another.

16. A match machine comprising the stock feed, rotating spokes opposite the feed turning in a circular path, cutter bars journalcd in said arms and adapted to slide radially thereon, a guide track to receive the ends of the cutter bars, stationary guides opposite the stock feed, squared portions on the cutter bars to engage the said guides, means for turning the squared portions to bring the cutting edges tangentially to the circular path at one point and radial thereto at another, and a carrier moving with the cutters and arranged to eject material from the cutters into the carrier.

WILLIAM F. I'IU'JFCHINSON. Witnesses Wamznx 11. Hu'rcnrNsoN, FRANK L. S'rUnns. 

